tiny insects in bedding

[copper]

hi,

i noticed few weeks ago that there are tiny (smallest i've ever encountered) insect in my skinks bedding. some of them float dead in her water dish, otherwise i would not have noticed them. they appear to be light in color and i suspect they come with the aspen substrate i use, as i recently changed the bedding (and cleaned + disinfected the terrarium) and they're still there. or do they come from the skink? both the old and the new bedding came from the same bag. i'm buying a new bag next week and see what happens. but do you think the insects are harmful?

[Dakota]

Sounds like wood-mites. Completely harmless to reptiles, just doesn't look natural! They are after the wood, not the reptile.

Are they like little tiny white bugs? About the size of a tiny, tiny ant or an adult sized flea?

Most people bake their substrate before putting it into their reptile cage. I got a case of it when I switched to cypress mulch.. I decide to thoroughly clean out four 4 foot long cages and just replaced it with Aspen. You can still use the substrate after the mites have been found, just bake it! I can't remember how high it need to be or how long to kill them, though.. maybe another member will enlighten you.

[copper]

thanks for replying, that's good to hear they're not harmful : )
yes, they are white tiny bugs you can barely see. i guess it's baking time soon!

[Dakota]

Dump out all the substrate in a garbage bag, when that is finished, completely clean out the cage.. make it look NEW. Put a handful of the bedding on a turkey pan and bake at whatever temperature it is.. put the new bedding in a different garbage bag. Keep doing this until all of the bedding has been baked, make sure not to let them get in contact with each other.. then let it cool for a while, and dump it back in! Simple as that.

[Susann]

The only thing I would add to Dakota's advice is that you can do more than a handful in the oven at a time.

Laita uunivuoka täyteen!
Vaikeus on että siitä tulee kauhean kuivaa kun käyttää sitä uunissa. Olen joskus suihkupullolla suihkuttanut hiukan kosteaksi ensin.
Voit myös käyttää sitä mikrouunissa; se ei kuivata yhtä paljon. En kyllä minäkään tiedä tarkkoja aikoja kummallakaan tekniikalla, mutta kunhan ajattelet itse että uuni on lämmittänyt koko satsin tarpean kuumaksi, tai mikro on tarpeeksi säteillyt, että pöpöt on kärähtänyt.
Inhoittavaa, onneksi ei ole (VIELÄ) minulle sattunut!

[Merriann]

I took Twinkie to the vet for his first check-up and she recommended freezing his bedding for 24 hours to kill parasites. I don't know if that works the same as baking but thought I would throw it in for what its worth.

[donkeybuff]

Baking kills more, since some parasites have eggs that can survive the temperatures in your freezer.

[Toria Dawn]

So could you get a big roasting pan and bake all of your bedding first? I'd be so worried about starting a fire in the oven. Any consensus on baking temp?

[Scincoides]

I bake everything at 225 for 15 minutes. No fires yet